Monthly Archives: April 2020

Featured Guest

Fiona Brooker

Fiona Brooker is a professional genealogist (Memories In Time) who has been actively researching her family history for over 30 years, inspired by two marriage certificates and a collection of family letters written from New Zealand back to her immigrant ancestor’s family in Devon, England. Whilst living and researching in the UK, she studied and gained a Higher Certificate in Genealogy from the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. Fiona has served as both President and Treasurer of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG). She is currently part of a ProGen study group.

Thing You were most afraid of

“Finding people who are actually going to pay you to do what you really love doing.”

Best Advice You Received from Someone Else

“Action not perfection. Don’t let the need for perfection stand in your way of just doing what needs to be done.”

One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now

“Go out and look for what opportunities are out there. You just don’t know what you can do until you see what others are doing as well. Get involved with projects in your local community.”

Recommended Book

Bringing Your Family History to Life through Social History by Katherine Scott Sturdevant

Advice

“You reap what you sow. Get out there and be involved in groups and do things like transcribing.”

Action Item

Today’s action item comes straight from Fiona’s lightning round suggestion. If you are looking for opportunities look right in your local community. What opportunities are there that you can get involved with? Are any local groups doing projects that could use your research expertise? Perhaps research into soldiers of past wars. Or perhaps researching the town founders in the local cemetery. Use these opportunities to build networks and to spread the word about your services and expertise.

News

The Genealogy Professional podcast is now available on Spotify. Search for either Marian Pierre-Louis or genealogy to find it. Don’t forget to follow!

If you’re a YouTube you can also find all the episodes of the podcast on YouTube. Don’t expect any video. It’s just an audio-only file with a picture but I’ve put it over there because some people are more comfortable with that platform.

I’m continuing in my effort to get back on a bi-weekly schedule for the podcast. Eventually I’ll settle on an exact release date twice a month. But in the meantime you can expect a new podcast generally every two weeks.

Featured Guest

Lisa Lisson

Lisa Lisson of Are You My Cousin?

As a genealogy researcher and creator of the Are You My Cousin? blog, Lisa Lisson takes the overwhelm out of genealogy research and keeps researchers moving forward finding their ancestors. Whether researching ancestors alongside clients or writing how-to articles and books, Lisa uses her 12 years of research experience to help others build a solid research plan, find the needed genealogy records, and get the most out of those resources. When not working with clients or writing genealogy articles, Lisa can be found pursuing her passion for running, traveling with her husband or simply enjoying time with her two adult children.

Links Mentioned

Thing You were most afraid of

“That nobody would read my blog.”

One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now

“They need to start their email list.”

Recommended Book

Stories that Stick by Kindra Hall

Advice

“Don’t be afraid to look outside the genealogy world whether it’s starting a genealogy business or whether it’s in your own personal research. Don’t be afraid to look for the sources outside of the genealogy world.”

Action Item

For your action item today I want you to focus on your education. Lisa saw specific items that she needed to learn in order to make her blog function as a business. What do you need to do to function as a business? Do you need a website to attract clients or readers? Do you need a mailing list to communicate with your clients? Do you need time tracking software or a bookkeeping program? Think about what tool would take your business to the next level and then do some research to determine how to find classes and to make that happen.

News

The Genealogy Professional podcast is now available on Spotify. Search for either Marian Pierre-Louis or genealogy to find it. Don’t forget to follow!

If you’re a YouTube you can also find all the episodes of the podcast on YouTube. Don’t expect any video. It’s just an audio-only file with a picture but I’ve put it over there because some people are more comfortable with that platform.

I’m continuing in my effort to get back on a bi-weekly schedule for the podcast. Eventually I’ll settle on an exact release date twice a month. But in the meantime you can expect a new podcast generally every two weeks.